Japan 2030

Akira Hyndai

It was time for our school's field trip, we huddled together in the airplane and watched the ground vanish beneath us. The teacher looked at us with a look of utter seriousness, one that brooked no arguments. He was a hard man, I can't say I was very fond of him but looking back on it, he was a good teacher and a man that prepared us for the real world.

"We're going to a special place, a sacred place... a honored place. There will be no joking around, there will be no rough housing and if I see any mobile devices, any games..."

He loomed over us.

"I will toss them into the ocean."

He stopped.

"We're going to the Kougi shrine, a place built and dedicated to the over 6 million japanese people who were murdered by Leviathan."

Emotions crossed his face, his knuckles were white.

"We have been given permission by the curator and abbot to view Leviathan's end, you will not try to touch the sword. Photos are permitted, this is a place dedicated to the dead, to our nations greatest loss."

He turned his back on us and got back in his seat. I looked outside at the ocean and saw the artificial island, a bit of Kyushu that our capes had forced to rise once again to the surface. I had seen the maps and I tried to imagine mutliple cities on a great island. I found that I was unable to do so. The plane landed and we were shooed out, I saw the shinto monks chant. We were walked into the large buildings were the museum was located. We passed photos of faces, relics that were pried from the deep, and images of the Kyushu that was.

We listened as docents talked about the history of Kyushu, tried to impart on us how much we lost, how much humanity lost. Then we were forced to watch the day where the island was destroyed, we watched japanese people run and scream in terror and watched the death, watched satellitefeed of the island sinking, watched Lung fight him off too late. The movie ended. Our teacher looked tired, sad, he took to his feet, his voice was harsh.

"Come."

We went with him leaving the building, we stopped in front of a statue of Ironwood, it was made out of marble, he was knelling, a sword in his hands offered as a gift. There was another building, we went inside and found stairs, it was dark. We entered another theater, we sat down once again.

The teacher stared at the blank screen.

"None of you were alive then, none of you remember that moment."

He said this with a tired voice, the movie started, we watched as Ironwood appeared, I didn't recognize his outfit, he wasn't wearing the purple and white he was known to wear. We were watching the defection. Then the video started talking about the Endbringer who changed, the good one. My parents had a photograph of him on the wall. Every now and then, when she thought no one was looking, mother would lit incense in front of it.

We watched the wedding, a few of the girls oohed and awed, it was well known that his wife was half japanese, finally we watched the final battle. The battle covered the entire room, holograms showed the battle in detail. We felt immersed in it, we watched it until it ended, until Leviathan collapsed. The video returned to a single screen and we watched Leviathan die. A few looked away.

"Did... did he have to kill him like that."

The teacher got up and glared at the little girl foolish enough to say that.

"What did you say?"

His voice dripped with venom.

"Did he have to, you know kill him like that? Couldn't he have, you know tal..."

He loomed over her.

"Over six million people, our people died because of him, he killed far more then that, he then attacked his brother's city to murder his own family."

He regained control.

"This is a place dedicated to loss, but it is also dedicated to justice, never forget that Karin."

"Yes sir."

He looked around.

"We're going to the shrine."

We walked up the stairs to the shrine that dominated the landscape, dedicated to praying for the murdered victims of Kyushu. The boys and the girls were seperated, we were forced to clense ourselves spiritually and physically, then we were dressed in the white robes that we had packed. We walked into the shrine and heard the praying monks, a few of us had cameras as we were walked into a room. The doors opened and we walked into a carefully maintained garden.

I saw a multitude of sunflowers pointed at a carefully maintained living tree that held Levithan's end. It looked like a simple sword, but a part of me could feel its' power, feel its' might. It felt holy, sacred. My mouth felt dry, the monks nodded as we stared at it.

"This gift was given to Japan as a personal apology by Leviathan's brother Ironwood, this is the weapon that slayed him, the sword that avenged the people of Kyushu."

The monk clapsed his hands.

"This is a place dedicated to the wheel of Karma, always remember that the wheel of Karma spins. Evil actions will be paid for eventually, if not in this life, then the next. Leviathan thought he was beyond the wheel and as you can see, he wasn't."

The monk paused and smiled sadly.

"But it is possible to atone for bad actions, to earn redemption, please be good and if you do stray from the rightious path do not be afraid to turn back to the light."

With that we left and in the darkness flew back home, I looked back at the island.

"What are you thinking about Akira?"

I looked back at my teacher.

"I know what I want to be now."

"Oh, what would that be?"

"A monk... I want to be a monk."